Streetscape improvements coming to East McMurray Road in Peters Township

A series of decorative poles to hold banners is on the way for a stretch of East McMurray Road in Peters Township.
At its Dec. 17 meeting, township council awarded a $278,580 contract to J5 Construction of Chartiers Township for installation and other services associated with putting 19 poles in place. The 2018 budget includes a $325,000 appropriation for the project.
“It’s been a long process, and I think it’s going to be a nice addition to the township,” council chairman Jim Berquist said.
The measure is part of a streetscape improvement effort related to the township’s latest comprehensive plan, adopted in 2013. The plan calls for the strengthening of a “town center” identity for East McMurray near its intersection with Valley Brook Road, the area containing the municipal complex, the Peters Township School District administration building and two schools, and several businesses.
The poles can be used for holiday-related displays and other purposes.
“They will be lit from the bottom so that the banners will stay lit in the evening,” township manager Paul Lauer said. “In addition, there is power on each of those poles so that, in fact, if the township wanted to invest in a lighted display, you could do that on these poles, as well.”
He recommended developing a policy with regard to what is displayed on the standards and how often the displays are changed.
“I would anticipate that these would be changed up by the public works department, and it will take time,” he told council. “And it isn’t something that we want to be doing on an extremely frequent basis.”
Council’s vote was 6-1, with Monica Merrell opposing. Merrell said she agreed with the need to bolster the “town center” concept, but that the timing is wrong.
“I think that we don’t really know what the town center is going to look like, and I think that we might be putting the cart before the horse in dressing up the streetscape before we know what’s going to be developing in the area,” Merrell said.
According to the comprehensive plan, establishing a recognized “town center could make a significant contribution toward creating an activity node in the midst of the community, but its lack of identity, poor physical layout and random business mix inhibit the realization of that potential.”
The document’s recommendations are to “coordinate building architecture, site design and streetscape improvements in the planning area to reinforce a distinct brand or image unique to Peters Township.”